China To Review Foreign-Domestic Mergers

Law360, New York (August 10, 2006, 12:00 AM EDT) -- To weaken the possibilities of monopolies in the Middle Kingdom, China’s Ministry of Commerce has declared it will review acquisitions of Chinese companies by overseas firms.

According to a new regulation published on its Web site, the Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration for Industry & Commerce will now subject foreign-domestic mergers to anti-monopoly review.

Overseas companies that hold over 3 billion yuan in assets, have an annual revenue of over 1.5 billion yuan in China, or hold 20% of domestic market share before the...